GE's “Ideas Are Scary” Ad

There was also a strange GE commercial that showed how ideas can be scary to organizations, but they can thrive in organizations that welcome and nurture them:

There's a lot of sad imagery, including the “Idea Muppet” being homeless and kicked out of his home. But GE invites him (her?) in and the scary idea becomes beautiful and garners applause.

“Under the proper care, [ideas] become something beautiful.”

Hmmm… are Kaizen ideas squashed or embraced in your workplace? Is improvement welcomed or shoved out the door?

A Sad Example of Overproduction

In the Lean framework, “overproduction” is one of the forms of waste. Overproduction can mean building too much of something (producing too many cars) or doing work earlier than needed. Doing work too early often leads to rework, excessive inventory, and other forms of waste.

I'll never understand why somebody would get a prediction tattoo (unless they just want attention). Getting a “back to back champs” tattoo BEFORE your team wins the second championship… that's just foolish overproduction.

I hope nobody had run out to get a Seahawks “three-peat” tattoo prematurely, either.